Article of furniture



March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL. 3,241,902

ARTI CLE OF FURNITURE Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 o ifl, l ww" INVENTORS EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, RALPH B. LAY

ATTORNEY March 22,1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed 0G11. 30, 1962 wlllllillllillllllllllllllllilllllllllllllll Illnflljlldi INVENTORS rij 3n N m u 1 W H m u M m m u mw m m T w W mw L; w f j 1 H J w n RM www EARLF HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, /kk

March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILToN ETAI. 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 wwNINVENTO'RS EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, f/

RALPH B. LAY flil, IL/JLK ATT March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 'Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTORS EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, RALPH B. LAY

ATTO EY March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 EARLF. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, RALPH B. LAY

.aL, T ATT NEY March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Original Filed Oct. 30, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet '7INVENTORS ZX EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, RALPH B. LAY

ATTO NEY March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Original Filed Oct. 50, 1962 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 "YHImmnnlllnmmlnmilllllmmwHmmm i'lI INVENTORS EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L.MOORE, RALPH B. LAY

March 22, 1966 E. F. HAMILTON ETAL 3,241,902

ARTICLE OF FURNITURE 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Oct. 30, 1962 OriginalINVENTORS EARL F. HAMILTON DONALD L. MOORE, RALPH B. fw, uw -f/v LAYATTORNEY lnited States Patent O (el. 31a-219) This application is adivision of our copending application Serial No. 234,183, filed October30, 1962.

The invention relates to an article of furniture, and more particularlyto `a desk, cabinet, credenza, and the like provided with locking Imeansfor the drawers therein.

It -is the lobject of our invention to provide an article of furniturewhich will have attractive appearance, which will employ a pedestal unitadapted to hold a plurality of drawers which can -be releasably lockedin closed position, which can be economically manufactured largely fromsheetmetal and metal-tubing, and which will prove sturdy and durable inuse.

According to the preferred form of our invention, as it is embodied in adouble pedestal desk, there is provided a pair of pedestals, each ofwhich has a pair of opposed side walls interconnected by `a back walland floor. The opposed inner faces of the side walls have verticallyspaced, horizontally aligned guides mounted thereon for the reception ofslides mounted on a plurality of drawers carried in the pedestal.Conveniently, the guides and slides are provided with cooperativeanti-friction means for facilitating the sliding movement of the drawerswith respect to the pedestal and with stop means for limiting saidsliding movement of the drawers. Lock means are mounted on the pedestalfor locking engagement with said drawers for releasably locking them intheir closed positions within the pedestal.

The pedestals are connected at their upper ends to a desk top extendingthereover and therebetween. Desirably, the pedestals are furtherinterconnected -by ya modesty panel extending therebetween below saidtop and rigidly connected to the opposed outwardly presented faces onthe adjacent side walls of said pair of pede-stals.

The pedestals are supported in 1an elevated position above the floor onpairs of ground-engaging legs mounted on the remote ends thereof.Conveniently, each of said legs is formed as a length o-f metal-tubingand is rigidly interconnected to the `adjacent pedestal adjacent theupper rand lower ends of said pedestal. Desirably, the upper end of eachof the legs is interconnected to the top through its interconnection tothe pedestal, whereby said interconnection will cross-brace said leg,pedestal, and top.

Other objects and features of our invention will become apparent fromthe more detatiled description which follows and yfrom the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a desk embodying our invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of a portion of thedesk `shown in FIG. l, but with portions thereof being broken away;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is a lfragmentary plan view of the portion of the desk shown inFIG. 2, but showing the top in phantom;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. 3;

6 Claims.

ICC

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the 4line 6-6 of FIG.4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower end of one of thepedestal legs, Ibut with portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 8 is a yfragmentary vertical section taken on the line SS of FIG.2;

FIG. 9 is a horizontal section taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section of one of the pedestal unitsand showing the drawer locking means therefor;

FIG. 1l is a vertical section taken on the line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. l2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 12- 12 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a horizontal section taken on the line 13- 13 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 14 -is a horizontal section taken on the line 14-14 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the file drawer shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is la front elevation of the file drawer shown -in FIG. 14, butwith portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 17-17 ofFIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a horizontal section taken on the line 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the compressor plate shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 20 is a Ifragmentary perspective view of the file drawer suspensionsystem, but with portions thereof broken away;

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective View of the file drawer suspensionsystem shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the convenience drawer shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 23 is a front elevation of the drawer `shown -in FIG. 22, Ibut withportions thereof broken away;

FIG. 24 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 24-24 of FIG.23;

FIG. 25 is a horizontal section taken on the line 25-25 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 i-s a fragmentary side elevation of the rear portion of thedrawer shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 27 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 27-27 ofFIG. 26; and

FIG. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the upper drawer suspensionsystem shown in FIG. 2.

Our invention is illustrated in the drawings as incorporated in a doublepedestal desk comprising a pair of pedestals 10 mounted onground-engaging legs 12 and having a top 14. The pedestals 10 areidentical in construction with the exception of their drawer-supportingguides, the pedestal shown to lthe left in FIG. l being adapted to holda pair of drawers and the pedestal shown to the right in FIG. 1 beingadapted to hold four drawers.

Each of the pedestals 1f) comprises a pair of side walls 16 rigidlyinterconnected at their rear ends by a transversely extending back wall17 and having inwardly bent flanges 18 and 19 along their upper andlower edges respectively. The flanges 18 and 19 terminate inwardly fromthe ends of the side walls 16, and at its front edge, each of said sidewalls is bent inwardly and rearwardly to form a channel 20 with theinner channel leg being further bent inwardly and rearwardly to form avertically extending offset 22. As shown in FIG. 5, a verticallyextending brace 25 is received between each of the offsets 22 and theinner face of the adjacent side wall 16, said brace being rigidlyconnected to the offset 22 as by welding. Each of the braces 25 has apair of inwardly extending fingers 27 at its opposed ends, with thefingers at the upper ends of said braces being rigidly connected to atransversely extending brace 2S and the fingers 27 at the lower ends ofsaid braces being connected to a transversely extending brace 30. Thelegs on the channels terminate inwardly from the upper and lower ends ofthe side walls 16, and the braces 28 and 30 extend over the upper andlower ends of the braces and have inwardly directed ears 31 rigidlyconnected to the braces 25 adjacent their upper and lower edges.

As shown, the lower side wall flanges 19 are connected to a pedestalfloor 33 along the lateral edges of said floor, and the pedestal backwall 17 is provided with an inwardly extending flange 34 along its loweredge connected to the floor 33 along the rear edge thereof. The forwardedge of the floor 33 is bent upwardly and rearwardly to form a channel35 extending over the forwardly disposed edge of the lower transverselyextending brace 30, and said floor is rigidly connected to the loweredges of the side wall channels 20 whereby the channels 20 and 35 form asmooth trim surface around their respective edges of the pedestal.

A forwardly projecting ange 36 extends along the upper edge of thepedestal back wall 17 and is rigidly connected to a transverselyextending brace 37 identical in construction to the brace 28 anddisposed in parallelism therewith. The brace 37 has a pair of downwardlyextending ears 38 at each of its ends which are rigidly connected to apair of vertically extending braces 39 having fingers 40 at their upperends also rigidly secured to the brace 37. The lower ends of the braces39 terminate immediately above the Hoor 33 and are provided withinwardly extending fingers 41 rigidly connected to a transverselyextending brace 42 rigidly connected to the floor 33 and having pairs ofupwardly extending ears 43 at each of its ends rigidly connected to thebraces 39. Desirably, a silencer 44 formed from any suitable material,such as corrugated board or the like, extends along each side wall 16between the braces 25 and 39 and may be held therein by the drawerguides hereinafter described.

As shown in FIGS. l and 2, a pair of ground-engaging legs 12 areoperatively interconnected to each of the pedestals 10 along the remoteside walls 16 of the pedestals. The legs 12 are conveniently formed aslengths of metaltubing, and the forwardly disposed leg 12 on eachpedestal 10 is connected to the brace 28 by a bracket 45. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 4, the bracket 45 has an arm 46 disposed over the upper faceof the brace 28. The arm 46 has a pair of offsets 47 received in matingopenings 48 formed in the brace 2S and is connected to said brace by ascrew 49 extending through aligned openings formed in said arm and braceand `the nger 27 on the adjacent brace 25. At its outer end the arm 46is offset forwardly and terminates in a downwardly extending arm 50received in the open upper end of the leg 12 for holding said legagainst the outwardly presented face of the outer pedestal side wall 16.Each of the forwardly disposed legs 12 is connected to the lower end ofthe pedestal by a bracket 51 having an arm 52 rigidly connected to thepedestal fioor 33 and brace 30 by bolts 53 extending upwardly throughopenings formed in said bracket and oor and received in clinch nuts 54mounted over openings 55 formed in the brace 30. The outer end of thearm 52 is offset forwardly and is received in an opening formed in theinner wall of the leg 12, with said arm 52 within the extent of the leg12 being continuous with an upwardly extending arrn 56 interconnected tothe adjacent pedestal side wall 16 by a screw 57 extending throughaligned openings formed in said side wall and the inner wall of saidforwardly disposed leg.

Each of the pair of rearwardly disposed legs 12 is interconnected to itsadjacent pedestal in the same manner as the pair of forwardly disposedlegs 12. As shown in FIG. 6, each of said rearwardly disposed legs isconnected at its upper end to the brace 37 by a bracket 45 having an arm46 carried on the upper face of said brace. The arm 46 has offsets 47received in mating openings 48 formed in the brace 37 and is connectedto said brace by a screw 58 extending through aligned openings formed insaid arm and brace and the finger 40 on the adjacent brace 39. The arm46' is offset rearwardly at its outer end and terminates in a downwardlyextending arm 50 received in the open upper end of the adjacent rear leg12 for retaining the upper end of said leg against the outer face of thepedestal side wall 16. The lower end of said rearwardly disposed leg isconnected to the bottom of the pedestal by a bracket 51 having an arm 52underlying the pedestal oor 33 and connected to said floor and the brace42 by bolts 53 extending upwardly through openings formed in saidbracket and tioor and received in clinch nuts 54 mounted over openings55 formed in the brace 42. The arm 52 is offset rearwardly at its outerend and is received in an opening formed in said rearwardly disposedleg, with said arm 52 within the extent of said leg being continuouswith an upwardly extending arm 56 rigidly connected to the adjacentpedestal side wall 16 by a screw 57 extending through aligned openingsformed in said side wall and the inner wall of said rearwardly disposedleg. As will be apparent, the pairs of brackets 45 and 45 are identical,as are the brackets 51 and 51', so that the brackets in each pair may beused interchangeably.

Conveniently, as shown in FIG. 7, a shouldered plug 59 having a threadedopening extending therethrough is mounted in the lower end of each ofthe legs 12. Said plug carries a ground-engaging cap 60 connected to athreaded stud 61 received in the plug opening for adjustbl positioningsaid cap relative to the leg 12 to level the I One of the principaladvantages in our invention resides 1n the ability of the pedestals 10to be used interchangeably on either the left or the right side of tedesk, to be used as a single unit in a cabinet structure, or to be usedin a credenza structure wherein a plurality of pedestals are disposed inabutting side to side relationship. To this end, as shown in FIG. 4, thetransversely extending braces 28, 30, 37, and 42 are provided with theopenings 48 and 48', and 55 and 55', adjacent each of their ends so thatthe legs 12 and the brackets 45 and 45', and 51 and 51', may be mountedon either or both sides of a pedestal. As will be apparent, if it isdesired to produce a single pedestal cabinet, it is merely necessary tomount four of the legs 12 on one of the individual pedestals, said legsbelng connected thereto in the manner previously described.Alternatively, if it is desired to produce a credenza type structure, aplurality of the pedestals 10 are set in abutting side to siderelationship and a pair of legs 12 is connected to each of the endpedestals in the manner previously described. The adjacent pedestalunits in such a credenza type structure may be interconnected along thebottoms of said units by suitable transversely extending braces rigidlyconnected to the adjacent ends of adjacent braces 30 and 42 on adjacentpedestals. In such a credenza type structure, the pedestals are furtherinterconnected along their upper ends by a top corresponding to the top14 which is connected to each of the pedestals 10 in the mannerhereinafter described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the top 14 extends over both of the pedestals10 and the space therebetween. Said top comprises a sheet-metal panel 62preferably having a decorative cover 63 extending thereover andconnected thereto by bonding and by a peripherally extendlng clip 64. Asshown in FIG. 3, the clip 64 has an inwardly open channel 65 bindinglyreceived over the panel 62 and cover 63, with lower leg of said channelhaving an offset 66 formed therein. Secured to the lower face of thepanel 62 is a trim molding having an inwardly projecting leg 67connected to said panel inwardly from the peripheral edge thereof andprovided with an offset 68 in which the clip offset 66 is received. Theleg 67 is continuous with a skirt 69 projecting downwardly from the clip64 and terminating at its lower edge in an inwardly bent leg 70 parallelto the leg 67.

As shown, the top 14 is strengthened along its front and rear edges by apair of braces 71 and along its lateral edges by a pair of braces 72interposed between the braces 71. The braces 71 and 72 have identicalcrosssectional conligurations. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the braces71, which extend the full width of the top, each comprise an upper leg73 connected to the panel 62 inwardly of the molding leg 67 andintegrally interconnected to a lower outwardly rojecting leg 74 by a web75. As shown in FIG. 3, the leg 74 has a stitfening channel 76 at itsouter end abutting the molding leg 70 and skirt 69, but portions of thelegs 74 are removed from the braces 71 adjacent the ends thereof toaccommodate the upper ends of the pedestal legs 12. Each of the braces72 has an upper leg 73 connected to the panel 62 inwardly from themolding leg 67 and integrally connected to a lower outwardly projectingleg 74' by a web 75. The outer end of the leg 74' has a stiffeningchannel 76 abutting the adjacent molding leg 70 and skirt 69.Preferably, the top is further braced by a plurality of transverselyextending upwardly open channels having legs 77 connected to the panel62 and interconnected by webs 78.

As shown, the ends of the braces 72 abut the webs 75 of the braces 71 atthe corners of the top. And at each of said corners, the ends of themolding strips overlying the braces 71 and 72 are mitered. The legs 67on the molding strips extending along the lateral edges of the top arerecessed adjacent their ends to accommodate the brace legs 73intersecting said molding legs.

As shown, the legs 74 on the braces 71 overlie the braces 28 and 37 andare rigidly connected to said braces by the screws 49 and 58interconnecting the legs 12 to the pedestals. The brace legs 74.1 arefurther interconnected to the pedestals 10 adjacent the inner side wallsof said pedestals by screws 79 projecting upwardly through openingsformed in the braces 28 and 37 and the ngers 27 and d0 on the braces 25and 39. As shown in FIG. 3, spacers S are disposed around the screws 79between the brace legs 74 and the braces 28 and 37, said spacers havinga thickness corresponding to the thickness of the bracket arms 46 and46.

As will be apparent, when our invention is embodied in a credenzastructure, the top 14, by being connected to the pedestals, willinterconect the adjacent pedestal units in such structure for retainingthem in xed positions with respect to each other. And when my inventionis embodied in a single pedestal cabinet structure, said top need havean extent only slightly larger than the extent of a single pedestal.

When our invention is embodied in a desk as illustrated in the drawing,it is desirable that the two pedestals 10 be interconnected adjacent therear end of the desk by a modesty panel 81 shown in FIG. 8. The panel 81spans the space between the pedestals 10 below the top 14 and isprovided along its lateral edges with flanges 82 abutting the adjacentpedestal side walls 16 and secured thereto by screws 83. Conventiently,the lower edge of the modesty panel 81 is bent forwardly and upwardly,as at 84, to stiften said panel and provide a smooth surface along thelower edge thereof. Extending between the pedestals 10 immediately belowthe top 14 is an upwardly open cord channel 86 the rear leg of which hasrearwardly extending flanges 88 at each of its ends which extend overthe modesty panel anges 82 and are rigidly secured thereto as by rivets90. Conveniently, the anges 82 are provided with vertically extendingoffsets Within the extent of the flanges 88 whereby the channel anges 88may be secured to the modesty panel to form a cord channel-modesty panelsub-assembly. The upper end of the modesty panel 81 is also providedwith a forwardly and downwardly extending flange 92 disposed over therear edge of the cord channel 86, with said cord channel being in opencommunication with the rear of the desk. An opening 93 is provided inthe web of the cord channel 86 adjacent each end thereof through which atelephone cord, light cord, and the like may extend for reception intothe channel 86. The cords may extend upwardly from the channel 86through the space between the top 14 and modesty panel 81 for connectionto their respective accessories supported on the desk top 14 and thusobviate the necessity of long lengths of said cords extending acrosssaid top.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the pedestals is adapted to house aplurality of drawers which may be conveniently locked in closed positionby the locking assembly shown in FIGS. 10-12. Desirably, one of saidlocking assemblies is provided on each of the pedestals 10 adjacent theinwardly presented pedestal side wall 16. The locking assemblies areidentical in construction, and each comprises a vertically extending rod95 having its upper end rotatably carried in an opening formed in abracket 96 mounted on the pedestal brace 28 adjacent one end thereof.The lower end of the rod 95 rests on the pedestal floor 33 and isrotatably carried in an opening formed in a bracket 98 mounted on thepedestal brace 30. A lock 100 is mounted in the side wall 16 immediatelyadjacent the rod 95 and is provided with an inwardly extending shank 101upon which a cam 102 is xedly mounted. Conveniently, a stilening plate103 is interposed between the lock 100 and the side wall 16 forreinforcing said side wall adjacent said lock. Desirably, the plate 103has a pair of vertically spaced arcuate fingers 104 partiallycircumscribing the rod 95 and acting in combination with the brackets 96and 98 for rotatably supporting said rod within the pedestal. Aplurality of locking tongues 106 are mounted in axially spaced positionson the rod 95 by screws 107 for rotation with said rod. Each of saidtongues 106 has a detent 108 at its outer end engageable with a suitablecatch on one of the draws carried in the pedestal for releasably lockingsaid drawer in a closed position within said pedestal when the rod 95 isrotated into a drawer locking position. To effect rotation of the rod95, a cam follower 110 is mounted on said rod by a screw 111 to engagethe cam 102 so that upon locking movement of a key 112 inserted into thelock 100, the cam 102 will rotate against the cam follower 110 to thuscause said cam follower to rotate the rod 95 in a direction to swing thelocking tongues 106 inwardly so that their detents 108 will engage insuitable catches on the pedestal drawers. The rod 95 is rotated into anunlocked position in which the tongues 106 are generally parallel to theadjacent pedestal side wall 16 by a torsion spring 114 having one of itsends xedly connected to the bracket 98 and its opposite end lixedlyconnected to said rod. Upon movement of the key 112 to rotate the cam102 into an unlocked position, the spring 114 will rotate the rod 95 tocause the tongues 106 to swing their detents 108 out of lockingengagement with the drawer catches. Thus, the locking assemblyillustrated in FIGS. 10-12 simultaneously locks and unlocks the entirebank of drawers which are carried in the pedestal upon which saidlocking assembly is mounted. Conveniently, the arms 106 are oblique totheir adjacent side wall 16 when they are in locked position, so thatsaid arms may be moved into their locked positions while the drawers areopen and, upon closing of said drawers, the detents 108 on the arms 106will engage in suitable drawer catches to lock said drawers in theirclosed position.

The pedestal 10 shown to the right in FIG. 1 is adapted to house a ledrawer which, as shown in FIGS. 15-19, comprises a pair of opposed sidewalls 119 having outwardly rolled beads 120 along their upper edges andintegrally connected at their lower ends by a drawer floor 121 having alaterally centered channel 122 extending the length thereof. A back wall124 extends across the rear of the drawer and is connected to the sidewalls 119 by a pair of flanges 125 formed along the lateral edges ofsaid back wall and connected to the inner faces of the side walls 119.The lower edge of the back wall 124 terminates in a pair of laterallyspaced, forwardly extending flanges 126 connected to the lower face ofthe floor 121 -on either side of the channel 122, and the upper end ofsaid back wall terminates in a rearwardly rolled bead 128. Conveniently,the back wall 124 may be provided with an opening 130 having a rolledupper edge 131 to facilitate lifting of the drawer when it is removedfrom the pedestal.

The front of the drawer is formed by a pair of vertically extendingpanels 132 and 134. As shown in FIG. 17, a flange 136 projectsrearwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the panel 132 to definea channel 137 extending thereacross, and a flange 138 connected to thedrawer floor 121 projects rearwardly and upwardly from the lower edge ofsaid panel and denes a channel 139 extending across the bottom of saidpanel. The panel 132 projects laterally outwardly beyond the side walls119, and the lower portion of each lateral edge of the panel is flangedat 140 and connected to the outer face of the adjacent drawer side Wall119. Similarly, the upper portion of each lateral edge of the panel 132has a flange 142 projecting rearwardly and inwardly from said panel andconnected to the inner face of the adjacent side wall 119 adjacent theupper end thereof. The panel 132 has a vertical extent slightly lessthan the vertical extent of the panel 132 and is provided along itslateral edges with vertically extending flanges 144 abut-- ting theinner faces of the side walls 119 forwardly of the connections of theside walls to the flanges 140. As shown in FIG. 17, the floor 121extends over the channel 139 and the panel 132 has a forwardly extendingflange 146 along its lower edge which is supported on said floorthereat. Conveniently, the floor 121 is provided with a pair oflaterally spaced, upwardly struck fingers 148 whose forwardly presentededges abut the panel 134 to interconnect said panel and floor. The panel134 extends upwardly into the front panel channel 137, and the panels132 and 134 are interconnected by a pair of bolts 150 extending throughaligned openings formed therein and received in the lateral ends of adrawer handle 162 projecting forwardly from the front panel 132.

As shown in FIGS. l5 and 16, a compressor plate 166 extends transverselyof the drawer between the side walls 119. The plate 166 has a forwardlyextending flange 168 along its lower edge and the upper edge of saidplate is provided with a rolled bead 170. Intermediate its upper andlower ends, the plate 166 has a pair of laterally spaced forwardlyprojecting channels 172 having a common web forming a bridge 174extending between said channels in which a generally U-shaped latch 176is carried. As shown in FIG. 19, the latch 176 has a finger lift 178 atits upper end normal to the general plane of the latch, and the lowerends of said latch project through openings formed in the plate flange168 for selective reception in a pair of rows of longitudinally spacedopenings 180 formed in the drawer floor 121 on the opposite sides of thechannel 122 for thus releasably locking the compressor plate 166 in thedesired longitudinal position along the length of the file drawer.Desirably, a pair of ngers 181 are struck outwardly from the plate 166in the path of movement of the latch to limit the unlocking movement ofsaid latch. The plate 166 is supported on the drawer on a pair ofgenerally L-shaped rods 182 connected to the channels 172, as by bolts183, and projecting longitudinally from the compressor plate forslidable reception in longitudinally extending beads 184 formed in theside walls 119 for slidably supporting the compressor plate in thedrawer.

The suspension system for the file drawer is illustrated in FIGS. 20 and21 and comprises a pair of horizontally aligned guides 188 mounted alongthe opposed sides of the pedestal yside walls 16 adjacent the pedestalfloor 33. Each of the guides 188 has a generally C-shaped crosssectionconsisting of a vertical web 189 interconnecting elongated legs forminglower and upper opposed tracks 190 and 192. A pair of offset tongues 193are struck outwardly of the guide web 189 and are received in open` ingsformed in the adjacent pedestal brace 39. Adjacent its forward end, theguide web 189 has outwardly struck tongues 194 received in the adjacentvertically extending pedestal brace 25. The forward end of the guide 188terminates at the front face of the adjacent brace 25 and has a pair ofoutwardly bent fingers 195 connected to said brace 25 by screws 196, thepedestal channel leg 22 being provided with openings disposed inalignment with the fingers 195 for connection of said fingers to thebrace 25. In this manner, the pair of guides 188 are flxedly mounted inhorizontal alignment along the inner faces of the pedestal side walls 16in spaced relation thereto and help to hold the silencers 44 in placeagainst said side walls.

Each of the guides 18S carries a propeller channel 198 comprising avertically extending web 200 interconnecting a first inwardly directedflange leg 201 extending along the upper edge of said web and a secondinwardly directed flange leg forming an upwardly open track 202extending along the lower edge of said web. The propeller 198 isslidably carried in the guide 188 on a pair of longitudinally spacedrollers 203 and 204 mounted on the propeller by axle pins 205 extendingthrough aligned vertically extending slots formed in the propeller web200 and the inner wall of the track 202 to thus provide each of saidrollers with a longitudinally fixed, vertically movable axis. As shownin FIG. 2l, the rollers 203 and 204 project through openings formed inthe track 202 for reception in the lower guide track 190, and said4track is provided with a pair of longitudinally spaced Wells 206 forthe reception of said rollers when the file drawer is in its fullyclosed position. The longitudinal movement 0f the propeller 198 withlrespect to the g-uide 188 is limited by an outwardly projecting stud207 mounted on the propeller web 200 and slidable in a longitudinallyextending slot 208 formed in the guide web 189.

As shown in FIG. 2l, a longitudinal extending slide 210 is mounted oneach file drawer side wall 119 for slidably mounting said file drawer onthe propeller 198. The slide 210 comprises an outwardly extending flange212 normal to the propeller webs 200 and carried on the upper face ofthe rollers 203 and 204. The flange 212 is continuous with a downwardlyextending flange 214 parallel with the webs 200 and interposed betweenthe rollers 203 and 204 and the web 200 for retaining the drawer in alaterally fixed position. As shown in FIG. 2l, a pair of longitudinallyspaced rollers 216 and 217 are mounted on the propeller web 200`adjacent the upper edge thereof, with the lower end of the roller 216engaging the upper face of the flange 212 for holding the guide 210within the propeller 198. The upper ends of both of the rollers 216 and217 project through openings formed in the upper propeller flange leg201 and the roller 217 has its upper end in tracking engagement with theupper guide track 192.

Still another roller 218 is mounted on the propeller web 200 forwardlyof the track 202 for engagement with the lower surface of the flange212. The roller 218 is carried in the lower guide track 190 when thedrawer is closed and has its lower end disposed above the plane of thelower ends of the rollers 203 and 204 when said rollers are yin theirlowered position in the wells 206. In this manner, the front of the ledrawer will be slightly elevated when said drawer is in its closedposition to thus preclude the possibility of said drawer accidentallysliding open. Also mounted on the propeller 198 forwardly of the flangelegs 201 and 202 and outside the vertical extent thereof is a bracket220 carrying a forwardly presented resilient bumper 222 engageable withthe ange 140 on the le drawer front panel 132 when said drawer is in itsclosed position and a rearwardly presented bumper 224 engageable with alaterally projecting stop 225 mounted on the le drawer side wall 119when said le drawer is moved -into its extended position. Conveniently,the bracket 220 also carries an anti-friction button 226 on its innerface against which the outwardly presented face on the adjacent ledrawer side wall 119 rides during opening and closing of the drawer.

As shown in FIG. 21, an upwardly project-ing plate 228 having an opening229 formed therein is mounted on the guide 188 adjacent the frontthereof, and a bracket 234 having an opening 236 formed therein is alsomounted on the le drawer side wall 119. When said file drawer is in itsfully closed position, the openings 236 and 229 will come into registerwith each other and with the detent 108 on the adjacent lock arm 106 ofthe locking assembly shown in FIG. 10'. Thus, upon turning the key 112into its locked position, the detent 108 will move -into the openings229 and 236 for thus locking the file drawer in its closed position.

The operation of the tile drawer suspension system may be described asfollows: As the file drawer is pulled outwardly toward its openposition, its slide 210 will ride on the propeller rollers 204 and 218and the rollers 203 and 204 will ride out of the wells 206 and along thetrack 190. The propeller moves outwardly until its stud 207 abuts theforward end of the guide slot 208, and the drawer rides outwardlyrelative to the propeller until the drawer stop 225 engages the bumper224. In this fully extended position, the le drawer slide 210 issupported on the roller 218 and the roller 204 and between the rollers204 and 216. And the propeller 198 is supported in the guide 188 withthe pair of rollers 203 and 204 carried in the lower track 190 and upperroller 217 carried against the upper guide track 192.

To close the tile drawer, it is merely necessary to push said drawerinwardly, whereby the slide 210 will ride on the rollers 218 and 204unt-il the drawer panel 132 engages the bumper 222. Continued inwardmovement of the file drawer will cause the rollers 203 and 4 to riderearwardly in the track 190 until the propeller stud 207 engages therear end of the guide slot 208, whereupon the rollers 203 and 204 willbe received in the guide wells 206.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 2.2-27, .the pedestals 10 are adapted to house aplurality of convenience drawers, each of which comprises a pair ofopposed side walls 230 having rolled .beads 231 along their upper edgesand integrally connected at their lower ends by a drawer floor 232. Aback wall 235 extends across the rear of the drawer and is connected tothe side walls 230 by a pair of flanges 236 formed on said back wall andconnected to the inner faces of said side walls. The lower edge of theback wall 235 terminates in a forwardly projecting flange 237 connectedto the lower face of the floor 232, and the upper end of said back wallterminates in a rolled bead 238.

The front of the drawer is formed by a pair of vertically extendingpanels 240 and 242. As shown in FIG. 24, a ange 244 projects rearwardlyand downwardly from the upper edge of the panel 240 to dene a channel245 extending thereacross, and a flange 246 projects rearwardly from thelower edge of said panel and is Connected to the lower face of the oor232. The panel 240 projects laterally outwardly beyond the side walls230, and each lateral edge of said panel has a rearwardly and inwardlyprojecting flange 248 connected to the outer face of the adjacent sidewall 230. The panel 242 has a vertical extent slightly less than thevertical extent of the panel 240 and is provided along its lateral edgeswith vertically extending flanges 250 abutting the inner faces of theside walls 230 forwardly of the connection of said side walls to theflange 248. As shown in FIG. 24, the floor 232 extends forwardly of therear edge of the flange 246, and the panel 242 has a forwardly extendingflange 252 along its lower edge which is supported on said door.Conveniently, the floor 232 is provided with a pair of laterally spaced,upwardly struck fingers 254 whose forwardly presented edges abut thepanel 242 to rigidly interconnect said panel and floor. The panel 242extends upwardly into the front panel channel 245, and said panel 242 issupported against the flange 244 within the extent of said channel. Thepanels 240 and 242 are interconnected by a pair of bolts 256 extendingthrough aligned openings formed in said panels and received in thelateral ends of a drawer handle 258 projecting forwardly from the frontpanel 240.

Intermediate their ends the side walls 230 have inwardly projectinglongitudinally extending channels 260 in which a plurality oftransversely aligned, vertically extending slots 262 are formed. Theslots 262 selectively receive the lateral ends of a divider 264extending transversely of the drawer with its lower end resting on theoor 232 and its upper end provided with a stiffening bead 265. As willbe apparent, a plurality of dividers 264 may be selectively carried inthe slots 262 for dividing the drawer into a plurality of various sizedcompartments.

The suspension system for drawers of the type illustrated in FIG. 22 isshown in FIGS. 2 and 28 and comprises a pair of longitudinally extendingchanneled slides 281 mounted on the drawer side walls 230 and extendingrearwardly thereof. The slides are slidably carried in a pair of opposedguides 282 extending along the pedestal side walls 16 in spaced relationthereto. The guides 282 are identical in construction, and each has agenerally C-shaped cross-sectional configuration comprising an elongatedweb 283 interconnecting a pair of parallel inwardly extending legs 284.The guide web 283 has a pair of outwardly struck fingers 286 adjacentits rear end which are carried in openings formed in the adjacentpedestal brace 39. As shown in FIG. 28, the guide web 283 has anexpanded vertical extent forwardly of the guide legs 284 and is providedat its forward end with an outturned nger 288 connected to the adjacentpedestal brace 25 by a screw 289. Conveniently, the expanded portion ofthe web 283 is further provided with an outwardly struck tongue 290received in an opening formed in the pedestal brace 25 for furtherinterconnecting said guide and brace. Mounted on the inner face of theexpanded portion of the guide web 283 is a bracket 292 having aforwardly presented bumper 294 disposed below the plane of the lowerguide leg 284 and engageable with the panel flange 248 when the draweris moved into its closed position. A rearwardly presented bumper 295 isalso mounted on the bracket 292 below the plane of the lower guide leg284 and, when the drawer is moved into its fully open position, engagesa laterally projecting stop 297 mounted on the drawer oor 232 adjacentthe rear thereof. Conveniently, an anti-friction button 298 is mountedon the upper face of the bracket 292 to project slightly above the lowerguide leg 284 to engage the drawer slide 281 and a second anti-frictionbutton 293 projects from said bracket to also engage said slide forfacilitating the sliding movement thereof. To further facilitatemovement of the slides 281 in the guides 282, a generally L-shapedanti-friction member 296 and an anti-friction button 297 are mounted oneach slide 281 adjacent the rear thereof, the member 296 engaging theadjacent guide web 283 and upper leg 284 and the button 297 engaging theadjacent lower guide leg 284.

As shown in FIG. 28, the drawer slide 281 is provided with an opening300 adjacent its forward end and the guide web 283 is provided with asimilar opening 302 adjacent the forward ends of the guide legs 284 anddisposed in alignment with the detent 108 on the adjacent locking arm106. When the drawer is in its fully closed position, the drawer slideopening 300 will register with (c) pairs of transversely and verticallyextending braces respectively interconnecting the side walls and the topand Hoor of said pedestal,

the opening 302 to permit the detent S on the adjacent locking arm 106to extend through both of the openings 302 and 300 for locking saiddrawer in its closed position.

We claim:

1. In an article of furniture,

(a) a pedestal comprising a pair of side walls interconnected by a floorand back wall,

(b) a top mounted on said pedestal and closing the upper end thereof,

(c) at least one drawer slidably carried in said pedestal,

(d) a lock rod rotatable about its axis and mounted in said pedestaladjacent `one of said side Walls and having at least one tongue xedlymounted thereon and rotatable therewith,

(e) key-actuated lock means mounted on said pedestal and having a camdisposed within said pedestal generally parallel to said one of saidside walls and in proximate relation to said rod,

(f) a cam follower xedly mounted on said rod and projecting radiallytherefrom for engagement with said cam, whereby upon movement of saidlock means in one direction said cam and cam follower will rotate saidrod to swing said tongue away from said one side wall into lockingengagement with said drawer and upon movement of said lock means in anopposite direction said rod will be free to rotate said tongue towardsaid one side wall out of said locking engagement with said drawer, and

(g) biasing means urging said rod to rotate said tongue out of lockingengagement with said drawer.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) said rod extendsvertically along one end of said side walls and said lock means ismounted on said one of said side walls normal to the axis of said rod,and

(b) said tongue is mounted on said rod normal to said lock means to liegenerally parallel to said one of said side walls when it is out oflocking engagement with said drawer and oblique to said one of `saidside walls when it is in locking engagement with said drawer.

3. In an article of furniture,

(a) a pedestal comprising a pair of side walls interconnected by a floorand back wall,

(b) a .top mounted on said pedestal and closing the upper end thereof,

(c) at least one drawer slidably carried in said pedestal,

(d) at least one pair of transversely extending vertically `alignedbraces interconnecting said side walls,

(e) a lock rod rotatable about its axis and carried in a pair ofbrackets mounted on said braces and having at least one tongue xedlymounted thereon and rotatable therewith.

(f) key-actuated lock means mounted on said pedestal and having a camdisposed within said pedestal in proximate relation to said rod,

(g) a carn follower xedly mounted on said rod in engagement with saidcam, whereby upon movement of said lock means in one direction said camand cam follower will rotate said rod to swing said tongue into lockingengagement with said drawer and upon movement of said lock means in anopposite direction said rod will be free to rotate said tongue outl ofsaid locking engagement with said drawer, and

(h) a coil spring carried in said rod and having its ends interconnectedto said rod and one of said brackets to urge said rod to rotate saidtongue out of locking engagement with said drawer.

4. In an article of furniture,

(a) a pedestal comprising a pair of side walls interconnected by a floorand back wall,

(b) a top mounted on said pedestal and closing the upper end thereof,

(d) drawer supporting means mounted on said pairs 5 of verticallyextending braces,

(e) a plurality of drawers slidably carried on said drawer supportingmeans,

(f) a lock rod rotatable about its axis and carried between said drawersupporting means and one of said side walls in a pair of bracketsmounted on a pair of said transversely extending braces and having aplurality of tongues xedly mounted thereon and rotatable therewith,

(g) key-actuated lock means mounted on said side l5 wall and having acam disposed within said pedestal in proximate relation to said rod,

(h) a cam follower xedly mounted on said rod in engagement with saidcam, whereby upon movement of said lock means in one direction said camand cam follower will rotate said rod to swing said tongues into lockingengagement with said drawers and upon movement of said lock means in anopposite direction said rod will be free to rotate said tongues out ofsaid locking engagement with said drawers, and

(i) biasing means urging said rod to rotate said tongues out of lockingengagement with said drawer.

5. In an article of furniture,

(a) a pedestal comprising a pair of side walls interconnected by a floorand back wall,

(b) a top mounted on said pedestal and closing the upper end thereof,

(c) at least one drawer slidably carried in said pedestal,

(d) a lock-rod rotatably mounted in said pedestal and having at leastone tongue iixedly mounted thereon and rotatable therewith,

(e) a reinforcing plate carried on one of said side Walls and havingfingers received around said rod for supporting said rod intermediateits length,

(f) key-actuated lock means mounted on said pedestal and projectingthrough said one side wall and reinforcing plate and having a camdisposed within said pedestal in proximate relation to said rod,

(g) a cam follower fixedly mounted on said rod in engagement with saidcam whereby upon movement of said lock means in one direction said camand cam follower will rotate said rod to swing said tongue into lockingengagement with said drawer and upon movement of said lock means in anopposite direction said rod will be free to rotate said tongue out ofsaid locking engagement with said drawer, and

(h) biasing means urging said rod to rotate said tongue out of lockingengagement with said drawer.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which (a) `said tongueprojects radially outwardly from said rod and is provided with a detentadjacent its end remote from said rod, and

(b) said drawer is provided with a laterally extending projection havingan opening formed therein for Ireception of said detent whereby saidtongue will be lockingly received in said opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS7/1962 Austria.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, FRANK B. SHERRY,

Examiners.

1. IN AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, (A) A PEDESTAL COMPRISING A PAIR OF SIDEWALLS INTERCONNECTED BY A FLOOR AND BACK WALL, (B) A TOP MOUNTED ON SAIDPEDESTAL AND CLOSING THE UPPER END THEREOF, (C) AT LEAST ONE DRAWERSLIDABLY CARRIED IN SAID PEDESTAL, (D) A LOCK ROD ROTATABLE ABOUT ITSAXIS AND MOUNTED IN SAID PEDESTAL ADJACENT ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS ANDHAVING AT LEAST ONE TONGUE FIXEDLY MOUNTED THEREON AND ROTATABLETHEREWITH, (E) KEY-ACTUATED LOCK MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID PEDESTAL ANDHAVING A CAM DISPOSED WITHIN SAID PEDESTAL GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAIDONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS AND IN PROXIMATE RELATION TO SAID ROD, (F) A CAMFOLLOWER FIXEDLY MOUNTED ON SAID ROD AND PROJECTING RADIALLY THEREFROMFOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM, WHEREBY UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID LOCK MEANSIN ONE DIRECTION SAID CAM AND CAM FOLLOWER WILL ROTATE SAID ROD TO SWINGSAID TONGUE AWAY FROM SAID ONE SIDE WALL INTO LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITHSAID